Research group IBON said
that the results of the expanded national nutrition survey (ENNS) dispute the
logic of institutionalizing the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) for poverty alleviation under Republic Act
(RA) No. 11310. The program is said to be an
“investment in the next generation” that develops healthy educated
Filipinos. Yet after over 10 years of implementation, said the group, Filipino
children still suffer from chronic undernutrition. Also, more than half of the
population remains food insecure.
Data from the Food and Nutrition
Research Institute (FNRI) show that the nutritional status of Filipino children
has not significantly changed since 2008 when the 4Ps commenced. Stunting, in
particular, has even worsened among infants and young children. The World
Health Organization (WHO) defines stunting as the impaired growth and
development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection,
and inadequate psychosocial stimulation.
The incidence of stunting among infants
and young children 0-23 months old worsened from 20.2% in 2008 to 25.5% in
2018, and only slightly improved among children under 5 years old from 32.2% to
30.3% in the same period. Also according to FNRI, there is still a “public
health problem of high severity” among school children ages 6-10 years at 24.5%
in 2018, even if this is lower than the 32.2% reported in 2008. FNRI also
reports that 53.9% of the population is still food insecure in 2018.
Other indicators of undernutrition,
such as underweight and wasting, also worsened for school children 6-10 years
old, from 20% in 2008 to 24.5% in 2018 and 6% to 7.6%, respectively, from 2008
to 2018. These indicators meanwhile are statistically unchanged among children
under 5 years old – underweight barely improved from 20% in 2008 to 19.1% in
2018, while wasting moved slightly from 6% in 2008 to 5.6% in 2018.
Meanwhile, data from the Department of
Health (DOH) 2018 Field Health Services Information System (FHSIS) show that
deaths among children under five years old increased to 11.42 per 1,000 live
births in 2018 from 10.8 per 1,000 live births in 2013. The UNICEF observes
that nearly half of deaths in children under 5 years old are attributable to
undernutrition which puts children at greater risk of dying from common
infections, aggravates such infections, and delays recovery.
Food insecurity and lack of nutrition remain
a public health concern, IBON said. This is despite the billions spent on the
much touted poverty alleviation program – about Php475 billion from 2008 to
2018, said the group.
The National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) attributes the recent reported decline in poverty incidence to
4Ps, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) claims that
1,315,477 household beneficiaries moved above the poverty line also due to 4Ps.
IBON however noted that the program was questioned by a 2017 Commission on
Audit (COA) report.
The COA said that the DSWD data does
not say whether the 4Ps services were effective in keeping Filipino children
healthy or if increased access to primary and secondary education guaranteed
the 4Ps children would be properly equipped to pursue further education or
secure jobs. “There is insufficient longitudinal evidence to determine if the
program caused the decline in poverty incidence and henceforth contributed to
the goal of breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty,” the COA stated.
These show that while cash grants
through the 4Ps may provide temporary relief to Filipino families, mere
dole-outs cannot wipe out poverty, said IBON.
Raising wages and incomes substantially
is critically important, said IBON. Paying Filipino workers substantial and just
wages will let them buy nutritious food for their children, said the group.
Giving farmers, fisherfolk and other food producers free land to till, the
infrastructure, technology and capital they need and ensuring that they are
paid fair prices for their produce will give them enough income to meet the
food needs of their families.
The group also stressed that the long-term
solution to pervasive hunger and poverty among the millions of Filipinos is
enough decent work from developed Philippine agriculture and industry. The
government should develop domestic agriculture for local consumption and
production of other raw materials. Local manufacturing should be developed as
part of larger program of national industrialization.
People-oriented economic policies that
give foremost importance to peoples’ welfare are needed. With steady income
sources deeply connected with the country’s economic development, Filipino
families can then nurture healthy and educated children. Only then can it be
said that chronic poverty has begun to meet its end, said the group. ###
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